2 Timothy 3:1-2 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy… ”

Whatever happened to the good old days?

Regularly I am reminded of times past as I prepare for upcoming antique auctions. Recently one of our featured items was a checklist reminder. This old time memorandum was painted on a wooden board and used pins to mark the pantry items which were running low. While taking photographs for our website I came across this gem and was surprised to see how few items were represented on the list – twenty-seven to be exact. Times sure have changed!

Life was simpler way back when and people were satisfied with much less than we are today. Grocery stores are now supersized and things once considered conveniences are now necessities. This trouble follows us into almost every area of life. We never seem to have enough, and more is always better. Satisfaction and thankfulness are things of the past.

These human characteristics are disturbing but they shouldn’t be surprising. Hundreds of years ago the Bible predicted that this would happen, and as time goes on things will get worse and worse. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy and the list goes on. We can already see that these things are true all around us, and our media, our commercials, and our lifestyles encourage it.

As God’s children we should search our hearts to see if any of these destructive behavior patterns have slipped in. Our lives should be completely opposite from the world’s ways and emulate the life of Jesus. We should love others more than we love ourselves. We should love God more than money. We should be humble, kind, obedient, thankful and holy. These are what make us stand out from the world and brightly shine our gospel light.

Whatever happened to the good old days? The days of short, uncomplicated grocery lists are gone forever. There are so many things to choose from – more than we could ever need. But don’t be surprised when you still regularly meet people who are not grateful. A lack of thankfulness, along with many other ungodly attitudes, is only going to get worse as time goes on. Just make sure, as God’s child, these characteristics are not representative of you. — Love, Mama